San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
DeRozan returns
» Spurs’ leading scorer is back after missing game to mourn father.
DeMar DeRozan returned to the court Saturday night for the Spurs’ home game against New Orleans after a one-game absence following the death of his father from a prolonged illness.
The return of the team’s leading scorer and distributor was a welcome sight for a team still missing Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Rudy Gay, Devin Vassell and Quinndary Weatherspoon because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols for COVID-19.
With DeRozan back and LaMarcus Aldridge upgraded from questionable to active before the game, the Spurs suited up 11 players against the Pelicans, one more than they had for Wednesday’s 102-99 loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Popovich said he doesn’t expect the Spurs to have their full complement of players again until after the All-Star break, which begins Friday and runs through March 9.
“That’s a hit-and-miss thing,” he said of a timeline for the return of the five players in COVID-19 protocols.
“They are not all going to come back at the same time,” Popovich said. “They are in the protocols and they are getting tested. The quarantine ends and then they have to get tested a little bit (more), according to the rules. Some may be back before the break, maybe some of them not. I just don’t know. But we won’t have the whole team before the break, for sure.”
DeRozan leads the team with per-game averages of nearly 20 points and 7 assists.
“It means a lot,” Walker said of having the four-time All-Star back. “He puts so much pressure on the rim and is such a terrific passer in the paint, he makes it easier for everyone else. He’s looking for others and, if he’s not looking for others, he is doing what he does best, which is scoring with his midrange and post-ups.”
Walker said it’s also good to have DeRozan’s veteran presence back in the locker room.
“DeMar DeRozan, his name speaks for itself,” Walker said. “He is highly respected within the league for a reason.”
Walker defends Murray’s costly kick
A day after the NBA fined Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray $25,000 for kicking the game ball into empty stands after the gut-wrenching loss to Oklahoma City, one of his teammates questioned why the league took such action.
“I would have kicked the damn ball, too,” Walker said Saturday.
As the Thunder celebrated Luguentz Dort’s game-winning 3 from the corner, Murray booted the ball over the scorer’s table into the stands.
“Nobody likes to lose, but no one sure as hell likes to lose like that, especially off a buzzer beater,” Walker said. “That kind of just rips your heart out. I know he was frustrated, I know he was pissed off. Things happen . ... It’s just part of the game. I don’t see anything wrong with it. That’s my teammate, and I am always going to have his back.”
Asked for his reaction to the fine, Popovich said, “That’s the rule.”
Game to include heroes’ welcome
The Spurs will invite essential workers as special guests to Thursday’s game against the Thunder at the AT&T Center as a way of honoring those serving the community during the pandemic and the recent disastrous winter storm, the team announced.
Complimentary tickets will go to more than 1,000 first responders, medical workers, teachers and frontline service employees. The Spurs are working with local companies to share the tickets.
Although the Spurs were quarantined in Charlotte, N.C., during the nearly weeklong storm that started Feb. 13, their thoughts were with the 370,000 San Antonians left shivering in the dark, Patty Mills said.
“That made it tougher than it already was, to be quarantined and watch it from afar,” Mills said. “It was almost like a double effect in that sense. We were helpless being so far away from home, knowing there were friends and family going through something very tough. It’s very deflating, a feeling of helplessness. In that situation, there’s not much you can do.”